Trouble in Underland
by Pepkie
Summary: Alice has returned to Underland yet again! And tonight, she plans to reveal her feelings to The Hatter at the ball. But, when a new character is thrown into the mix, will there be trouble in Underland? (M for later Chapters. As well as, this story is by DarkMarie! Credit to the artist for the cover photo)
1. Chapter 1: Return to Underland

Alice looked at the Hatter as he chatted freely. It had been 3 years since she had slain the Jabberwocky, and she was so glad to be back in Underland. Although she had explored continents unknown, Alice had ached for Underland, and she had ached for him. The Hatter had changed slightly since she had last seen him. His frizzy red hair had almost gone back to his soft red curls, and his eyes that once had black circles under them, were chipper. The only things that didn't change, and that Alice suspected would never change, were his muchness and his clothing. The Hatter's clothing was still very whimsical, but that's why Alice loved him. During her adventures she had missed the small bit of insanity he had brought to her life.

"Alice?"

"Hmm?" said Alice as she was pulled from her thoughts.

"I had asked you a question my dear."

"Oh, I am so sorry. I was lost in thought again."

"Ah, that is what I had missed about you. Your thoughts always had the most wonderful adventures. In fact just last week, I was sitting down and I thought to myself my, what wonderful thoughts Alice has, I wonder if she will be coming back soon. Of course everyone told me you were gone and I would sit for days just thinking, pondering, questioning, deterring-"

"Hatter!"

"Yes?" he asked softly.

"The question?" she said raising an eyebrow. The Hatter was a scattered person by nature but she had never seen him act so… fidgety.

"Ahh, yes. Well I wondering... if possibly you might like to join me for, well really accompany me... as my umm. Oh what's the right word...? Ah! Date. To the ball tomorrow."

Alice looked at him for a moment. His eyes glistened with hope, and his smile was so inviting. If one were to glance at him they would see a confident man, but looking closer you could see the slight shake of his hands. The Hatter was very nervous indeed.

"Yes. I would much like to accompany you as your date." she said as she smiled.

The Hatter looked as if he were about to burst. "Fantastic! I will begin the preparations. Don`t fret my dear you shall have the most lovely dress."

Alice tried to interject but he was going off on a whirlwind. Most of the words were foreign to Alice since she had never really cared for society's view of fashion, but she enjoyed watching him jostle about as he walked towards the White Queens Palace. Alice though, had no business in the castle today, and decided to take a walk.

Alice had plenty to think about, after all tonight was the night she would confess her feelings to The Hatter. At the stroke of eleven Alice was going to confess all those secrets in her heart. Alice walked for a couple more minutes, enjoying the scenery until she came to a very familiar place. Alice was standing on the terrace where Absolum had declared her "Alice at Last". The columns that held up the pavilion, to a wondering eye, looked much the same. They stood proud and the marble glistened in the light. However if one were to look closer they would see the small cracks that plagued the column.

"_Underland has changed_," she thought to herself.

Ever since The Red Queen and Stane were banished, peace had returned to Underland. The Red Queens palace was cleaned out and has become a living quarters for the servants that waited upon her, as an apology for the years of torment. Yes, Underland has once again become a place of peace and prosperity.

"_Well," _Alice thought "_Maybe not peace_."

Alice was about to start walking to the forest when a fanfare drew her attention to the front of the palace. She watched as a white and gold carriage barreled down the pathway that led to the front doors. Alice wasn't usually one to meddle in the affairs of royalty but, Alice was intrigued by this carriage. She turned on her heel and went towards the throne room. As she walked in she noticed The White Queen turn her way and smile.

"Ah, Alice just in time."

"Who's the visitor your Highness?" Alice asked as she bowed to the ground. Although she was now the "Princess" of Underland, much to her dismay, she still bowed to the Queen.

The Queen smiled warmly at her, much like a mothers smile and said "It's one of the Lords of Underland. He's coming to the ball as a guest of mine.

Alice tilted her head slightly confused. "I didn't know there were Lords of Underland."

"Yes, we have many Lords. You see, my palace is in the center of Underland, and so to make sure everything else in Underland is fairly divided, we have The Four Lords. Lord Gringall of the North, Lord Meerrywraith of the South, Lord Lindall of the East, and Elwood is the Lord of the West. Then the Four Lords have many dignitaries that they have chosen to help them govern their sections." finished the Queen proudly.

Alice was going to say something when the doors opened to reveal Lord Elwood. He wasn't like anything she has expected. To be honest, she thought he was going to be some potbellied, unshaven old man. Most of the Lords up top were money grabbing, balding old men who had nothing better to do than sit on their bottoms and debate about possible trade routes.

"_Ah, but this is Underland_," she thought "_Nothing here is normal_."

Lord Elwood looked to be about Alice's age, and was very tall. Possible 6'3, 6'6 at the most. His coal black hair reached his waist and he had crystal blue eyes. Alice didn't like him. There was something evil in those eyes, and she didn't trust that smile.

"Ah, my dear Mirwana. "Said Elwood as his arms opened wide in a grand gesture.

"Jonathan! "Said The Queen as she ran to greet him. Alice watched as they embraced and studied him closer. He had a scar on his hand that disappeared beneath the cuffs of his shirt, and if she looked closely she could see a strange sort of ring on his finger.

"_He doesn't dress like a Lord_," thought Alice. Elwood was dressed in a white silk, blouse that was tucked into beige pants and finished crisply at the knee high black boots. "_He looks more like those pirates from the books dad used to read to me_"

"And you must be Alice." said Elwood who was now inches away from Alice.

"Yes I am her. And you must be Elwood." she said grabbing the hand that he extended towards her. "_I really need to stop wandering in my thoughts_." she thought to herself. She had to keep everything she could from pulling her hand away. His hands were rough and calloused against hers. She let go as gracefully and dignified as she could.

"I must say it's an honor to meet you. And I see the rumors were true."

"What rumors?" said Alice who looked behind at the Queen, who was smiling... "_More like smirking to me_"

"That you are a beauty unrivaled by any other."

"Depends on who you talk to I suppose." said Alice bluntly. She didn't like him and refused to be complimented by him. "If you will excuse me your highness I must find The Hatter."

"Yes you may leave." Said The Queen as she moved gracefully towards Elwood. "_She must do some sort of magic to be that graceful." _

Alice wanted to run out of the throne room but restrained herself. She walked as calmly as she could but as soon as she hit the hall, she ran. Alice wanted to get as far away from Lord Elwood as possible. After she thought she was a safe distance away she started to slow her pace as she looked for The Hatter. She walked a while before she found him in his workshop gathering some sort of fabric and muttering to himself.

"Hatter, "she began, walking into the room. "I-"

"No! Alice leave! You can't see your dress before the party that's bad luck!" Alice laughed softly as The Hatter clamored to get in front of the scraps of material that were supposed to resemble the beginnings of her dress.

"Hatter, I think you're thinking of a wedding. And in a wedding its bad luck for the groom to see the dress."

"Oh, well that could be what I am thinning of. How was your trip above dear?" said The Hatter as he continued to busy himself with her dress. A snip here, and a snip there. He was working furiously and yet at the same time, it looked like a choreographed dance.

"They were wonderful. I went to so many places. Met so many people. But, I missed Underland terribly." "_And you_"

The Hatter was uncharacteristically silent for a moment, "Did you meet anyone special up there?" he asked quietly. Alice could almost feel the gloom radiating from him. His shoulders sagged slightly and the spark that was in his eyes disappeared a little bit.

"No. I already have someone in mind."

"What?!" Nearly yelled The Hatter.

"_The one time my thoughts don't stay in my mind when I need them to_." "Erm, well..."

"Do I know him? I need to make sure he's good enough for you." He said as he slipped slightly into his Scottish accent. "I need to make sure he's good enough for my Alice."

"Yes you know him." Alice was sweating slightly.

"Can you tell me who he is?" The Hatters accent was thicker now, she could see him slowly descend into that dark place.

Alice decided that she might as well tell him now. "Close your eyes and I'll show you who he is." She watched as the darkness left his eyes and his brightness returned.

"My dear Alice, I may be insane but I know that you cannot show me who is he if my eyes are closed."

"Trust me" she said, "You'll know."

"Alright." He said closing his eyes closely.

Alice closed the distance between them and took a deep breath.

"_It's now or never_" thought Alice. She reached up and touched his cheek gently. Taking his face in her hands she brought his lips to hers in a fast but, good enough to get the point across, kiss. Alice opened her eyes to see The Hatter looking at her. They looked at each other for quite a while before he removed her hands from his face. Alice turned away and started to leave, afraid that his silence meant rejection, when his hand grasped hers.

"Alice," he said softly "Don't leave."

"Why? It's obvious you don't like me back." Alice refused to cry, although she deeply wanted to. She turned to face him and for once in her life, she couldn't tell what The Hatter was thinking.

"Don't cry" The Hatter said as he stroked her back. "You're right though Alice. I don't like you."

Alice's face was one of pure hurt. The tears couldn't stop even if she wanted them too. One, two, three fell onto her cheeks. She tried to push The Hatter away from her so she could leave but he held her in a tight grip.

"Alice," he said as he stroked her hair, "I don't like you because my feelings for you go way past like. Alice Kingsley, I love you."

Alice looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Do you mean that?" she searched his face for even a snippet of a lie, but she couldn't find a single one. The Hatter looked at her with a warm smile, and eyes that meant what they were saying.

"With all the cup a tea could fill. Or is it the other way around... No matter." he said as he grabbed her chin. "Now, may we try that kiss again?"

Alice nodded her head as The Hatter brought his lips to hers. And it was if time had slowed down just for them. Their lips melted into each others as they kissed.

"Oh Alice," he said interrupting their kiss.

"Yes Hatter?"

"Call me Tarrant." he said as he kissed her again.

Alice wouldn't forget that kiss. But if she or The Hatter had been paying attention they would have noticed the figure outside her doorway that looked on with jealousy.

"_Alice will be mine." _


	2. Chapter 2: The Ball

Alice looked in the mirror, admiring the work that Tarrant had done. Her dress was much like the one she wore in the Red Queens presence, at least shape wise. The only differences were the colours and a few features Tarrant had added. Alice's dress was a heart shaped neckline, ironically enough, and flowered to the floor at the back. The top half of the dress was a teal colour, with black laces and intricate designs around the bodice. The skirt was black at the top and then slowly faded into the same teal colour as her bodice.

"Do you like it?" he asked slowly, anticipation lacing his voice.

"I love it!" Alice said smiling widely. "I don't usually like dresses, but Tarrant did a splendid job with this one"

"There is still a couple final touches to add before you are allowed to leave my site."

Alice gulped, "What touches are you talking about?" her mouth pulling into a bit of a grimace.

"Didn't the Queen tell you?" he started, "This is a masquerade ball! I still need to add your crown, your wings and your mask. As well as a bit of make-up and that hair. We need to do something with it. Maybe a French braid, or two buns, maybe left down, straightened, curly, twiste-"

Alice laughed before cutting him off "Tarrant! If we really need to do all that still, shouldn't we be getting ready?"

"Right! Alice sit there please. I promise you this won't take long."

Alice sat on the chair and tried not to fidget as Tarrant worked on her. She watched as he patiently attached the wings to the back of her dress. She had to admit, they were quite beautiful. They shook whenever she moved her shoulder blades, and moved with a grace she had never seen before. The wings were black, like her dress, but glittered with blue sparkles when they caught the light. Then, just as patiently as the wings, she watched Tarrant twist her hair up in ways she never thought possible. He arranged it into a fashionably acceptable, but still very Alice, hairstyle. She didn't move a bit, until he brought out makeup. Never one to put it on, or even know what each device was for, Alice furrowed her eyebrows in worry.

"Will it… hurt? "She asked hesitantly.

"My dear Alice," he said laughing. "Makeup doesn't hurt to apply. I simply do this," he said adding kohl to under her eyes. "And this." He finished as her applied red lip stain to her lips. "That's it for makeup." he finished proudly. "Now, I only need to add the mask and the crown." Alice watched as he ran around the room trying to find them.

"Well… let's see what I look like then…" Alice looked in the mirror, and to her surprise, she liked what she saw. The kohl wasn't too much under her eyes, and the red lips balanced her face, making it look full and womanly. "I look like a woman…" She said her eyes going wide.

"Here they are!" said Tarrant walking back to where she sat. It seemed whenever he was focused, Tarrant had a patience, and a grace that was so unlike his normal self. She looked in the mirror at the final product and gasped. The mask was like fire. The black feathers moved slightly back and forth, revealing tea blue feathers, making it appear as if there was blue fire beneath. Her crown was silver and pointed, much like the ones Alice had seen in the fairy tale books when she was a little girl.

"What do you think Alice?' said Tarrant, positively beaming down at her.

"I love it." She said in a whisper. "I look so… beautiful. I look-"

"Like a princess." He finished for her. "The Princess that Underland deserves."

Alice stood from her chair and hugged him as hard as she could.

"You better get going my dear." he said hugging her back. "The balls about to start. I should be there soon however. I just need to get dressed myself." he said laughing.

"Thank you Tarrant." Alice left the room and started walking down the hall towards the ballroom.

Before coming to Underland, Alice had never really been to a ball. She didn't see any use for them except to entertain upper class fools that had too much time on their hands. But now she had to for she was the Princess of Underland.

"Princess of Underland... " she sighed. "Why was I given the title? I mean... I'm happy that the Queen would chose me but, it is such tiring work. Even if I didn't want to attend tonight ball, I would have to. I wonder how the Queen does i-"

"Miss Alice!" shouted a familiar voice.

"Ah Mr. Rabbit!" she smiled as she walked towards him. "How are you this evening?"

"I'm fine thank you. The Queen has asked me to escort you to the upper level of the ballroom so that you may walk down in front of all the guests."

Alice sighed again. "Why must I?"

The Rabbit looked at her and stood straighter as if he was her teacher. "As Princess of Underland, it is customary that you walk down in front of your guests, and greet them. You must also thank them for comming and wish them a fine evening."

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Good." was all he said as he led her towards a staircase.

As they approched the staircase Alice took a deep breath. "I'm ready." The Rabbit opened the doors and her eyes nearly popped put of her head. "Wow..." was all she could say. The room had been decorated like the forrest Alice had first arrived in, except in nightime form. Vines grew on the wall, flowers towered overhead, and lights twinkled in the sky.

"Remember what i told you to say." The Rabbit muttered before fanfaring Alice's entrance. "Presenting, Alice Kingsley, Princess of Underland."

Alice gulped as everyone turned to look at her. Gasps could be heard from all over the room, and various comments ranging from "She looks so beautiful" to "Wish I could get her into bed". The latter resulted in many slaps from their respected partners.

"Welcome everyone. I know I speak for the Queen as well when I say thank you for coming. We hope you have a wonderful evening, and please, don't drink too much of the Scrappleberry Juice. We don't need any accidents tonight." Everyone chuckled and Alice let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Well that wasn't so hard." She thought to herself.

"Now you must go dance with them." said The Rabbit joyfully. To be honest, Alice had forgotten he was there.

"I need to wait for Tarrant"

"He asked me to tell you to go dance. He will be along later, and that he has a surprise for you."

Alice growled in frustration. "Must I go dance? Dancing among them is more frightening then facing the Jabberowocky!"

The Rabbit rolled is eyes. "Go dance Miss Alice. It is-"

"Proper. Yes I know." she sighed inwardly and walked down the staircase. The orchestra had started a very lively tune, and must to Alice's hatred, her feet started to move on their own.

"Shall we dance Milady?"asked someone behind her.

Alice turned around and looked closely at the person now in front of her. His eyes looked so familiar, and that smile, it made her think of a snakes smile. Filled with malice, and lust. He was dressed as a eagle tonight. His shirt was gold, with a paler yeller one underneath, and his pants were brown and his boots were black with gold buckles. He had wings as well, but his weren't as elaborate as hers. In fact, they quite dulled in comparison. His mask was black around the eyes, with an eagles beak as the nose.

"Yes... I suppose we small."

Alice took his hand and that's when she noticed the scar. It was none other than Lord Elwood himself. She wanted to kick and scream. She wanted to run away. But to do so, would bring shame to the crown. She had already said yes to the dance. She couldn't very well just walk away.

"You look fabulous tonight."he said smiling.

"As do you, Lord Elwood."

He laughed and it sent a chill down her spine. "Well, it seems I have been discovered."

"Yes. You have. It wasn't that easy, as the scar on your hand gave you away."

"Ah, yes. Would you like to know how it happened?"he asked twirling her around on the dance floor.

"Not particularly no." Alice couldn't help the snide comment. She just plain didn't like this man.

"It happened not to long ago actually. I was 14 and stupid, and had decided that perhaps I could slay a dragon that had been plaguing the lands for centuries. Well, I traveled months and months in the cold desolate weather, hoping that it would be worth it. Finally, after 6 months I reached the dragons cave."

"What was the dragons name?" she asked trying to feign disinterest. But the truth was, dragons has always interedted Alice. The Jabberwocky in her opinion, wasn't a dragon.

"His name was Galdrin. He was an ice dragon. Anyways, I went into the dragons lair. My sword ready, my legs itching to charge when, all of a sudden, I heard a whimpering sound. I walked over and there it was. A baby dragon. It turns out, that Galdrin was not a male dragon like we assumed, but a female one. Unfortunatley, it seemed that Galdrin died laying the egss, for she was no where to be found. I took the baby dragon and cared for it. It put up a mighty fuss though, " he paused laughing. "he almost clean took my arm off. But I got this scratch instead."

"Hmm.. interesting. I never would have pegged you as the sort of man to care for things beneath him." Alice mentally slapped herself when she realized what she had said.

To her surprise he just laughed. "Well, most people think that. But honestly, I love all animals."

Alice smiled as they continued to dance for a while. They danced and talked for 3 songs when suddenly she heard the voice she'd been waiting for.

"May I cut in?"

Alice turned around she started laughing histerically. Tarrant was dressed as a raven! His shirt was black with puffed out sleeves at the bottom, there was no shirt underneath. He cheekily left the first couple buttons undone so his chest was exposed. His pants were black as well as his boots, and he had on a long black coat. Much alike to Alice's, his wings were spectacular. The feathers looked soft to the touch.

"What? Do you not like it Alice?"

Alice smiled at him letting a couple more giggles escape her lips. "I love it Tarrant. It reminds me very much of the first time I came to Underland. I still haven't figured out that riddle."

He smiled and took her hand. "That's alright. I haven't either." He placed his other hand on her waist and together, they took over the dancefloor.

Lord Elwood, and in fact, the rest of the world was forgotten as they danced around the room. They twirled around the pillars, and the people. Around the flowers and the vines. Nothing mattered except them.

"Alice?" asked Tarrant after a while.

"Yes?"she asked smiling.

"Well... I was wondering... if maybe, you'd like to accompany me to the balcony for a moment."

She tilted her head but nodded and followed him. The balcony looked beautiful this late at night. The marble nearly glowed underneath the starlight, and the vines looked eathreal.

"Alice Kingsley," said Tarrant as he led her to the very edge. "I brought you here because I have something I want to ask you."

"Yes?" Alice's heartbeat quickened. He couldn't be asking what she thought he was asking. He couldn't be. It was too soon... wasnt it? What would she say?

"Alice Kisngley will you be..."

**TO BE CONTINUED! **


End file.
